


The Spirit Underneath

by karnatar



Series: Book of Spirits [1]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anxiety, Bullying, Don't Wanna Spoil the Plot, How Do I Tag, M/M, Spirit Animals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 06:12:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17074907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karnatar/pseuds/karnatar
Summary: Taekwoon has one big secret and he'll do all he can to stop it from getting out. All he wants is to get through university quietly but of course, fate has other things in mind for him.





	The Spirit Underneath

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone~ So I've had this story idea sitting on my phone for over a year now but could never write it up to a standard I was happy with. This is my first story so please bare with my writing style and please leave any constructive criticism to help me improve :))

The first day of college is an exciting day for most freshman as they finally break free from the grasp of their parents’ strict rule and are released into the new, exhilarating world of adulthood but for Taekwoon, he couldn’t imagine anything worse. His home was his safe haven, a place he could go when he was feeling insecure and scared but here, at Rovix Academy, everything was setting him on edge, his anxiety quietly eating away at the corners of his mind. He felt like a fish out of water and all he wanted was to return to his mother’s warm embrace and the comfort of familiarity. 

Taekwoon pulled his jacket tighter around his body in an attempt to reassure himself, to relay some sense of safety to his mind as his dark brown eyes flickered towards the sea of soon-to-be-freshmen, all of them exuding energy and buzzing enthusiastically. A shiver ran down his spine and he swallowed visibly at the thought of having to navigate his way through the never-ending crowd to find his dorm.

“Leo…will you really be okay?” Taekwoon’s mother gently touched his forearm and let her touch linger there, pulling Taekwoon out of his suffocating cloud of anxiety and back to reality. His brow furrowed slightly at his mother’s subconscious use of his nickname; she tended to use it when she was nervous which meant that Taekwoon wasn’t succeeding in comforting his mother during his departure.

Wiping the anxious expression off his face, Taekwoon held his breath as he looked his mother in the eyes and tried to speak with confidence, hoping she wouldn’t see through his façade.

“I’ll be fine.” Taekwoon’s knuckles were sapped of colour as the grip on his suitcase increased tenfold to hide the tremble that unwillingly wracked his hands. He cracked a small smile and hoped it didn’t look too forced. Taekwoon’s mother held onto her unease for a second more before letting it go, all-knowing of her son’s attempt at settling her qualms. 

“I know Taek.” Her hand rubbed reassuring on Taekwoon’s back as her expression became brighter. Upon noticing her facial expression changing, Taekwoon felt his posture sag slightly as the tension in his body seeped away. 

A small weight lifted off Taekwoon’s shoulders as he saw his mother become happier. His originally fake smile became genuine at the thought of his mother’s mind being at ease. The happiness was only momentary though as a glance at his watch caused Taekwoon’s heart to sink. He had to go otherwise he wouldn’t have enough time to find his dorm and unpack before orientation started. If there was one thing that Taekwoon was sure of, it was that he didn’t want to have to ask someone for directions every time he wanted to go somewhere on campus – he definitely could not miss that orientation tour.

“I’ve got to go now. I’ll make sure to text you once I’ve unpacked.” Taekwoon gave his mother one last hug before pulling away from her warm embrace and turning to face the crowd in the distance. He took a deep breath, indulging in the calming pine scent from the nearby trees, and began to drudgingly walk down the grey brick path with his suitcase in tow. 

“Please don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.” His mother called after him, her voice thick with emotion. Taekwoon knew that if he turned around now, the sight of his mother’s tears rolling down her aged cheeks would instantly break his resolve. He lifted his hand up and waved it faintly in the air to the right of his face knowing that his mother would take it as his final goodbye. 

As the thrumming crowd got closer, Taekwoon’s brain screamed at him to run away and seek safety. Even though he knew nobody would even spare him a glance, he could still imagine the feeling of the freshmen's piercing gazes as they analysed him and searched for any trace of weakness. It was a feeling that he was unfortunately well-acquainted with. The anxiety began bubbling up in his throat, constricting his airways, and he started to doubt his choice in coming here after all when suddenly, a peppy voice broke through the murmur of the crowd almost like how a ray of sunshine bursts through the clouds on a grey day.

“Hey freshman, you haven’t signed in yet have you?” 

Taekwoon glanced up from the spot on the ground that his eyes had been trained on for the last few minutes to see a student, dressed in a bright blue tee with the university’s emblem embroidered in the top right corner. He appeared to be waving enthusiastically…at him? Taekwoon discreetly skimmed his eyes round his surroundings to see if the student could’ve been addressing anyone else but he realised with a sigh that the student was undoubtedly targeting him.

“No, I haven’t.” Taekwoon replied, his voice amounting to barely a whisper, a lot quieter than he had intended. He doubted the student had heard him considering he barely heard what he had said himself and opened his mouth to repeat himself but didn’t get the chance.

“Come over here and tell me your name so I can check you off.” The student beckoned him over, smiling warmly. 

Taekwoon bit back his surprise at the student’s supposedly superhuman hearing and inclined his head downwards in what he hoped appeared to be a nod and slowly made his way over. As he did so, his eyes drifted down towards the student’s feet where he saw a Samoyed wagging its tail brightly, its eyes full of affection for the student. 

“Is that your dog?” Taekwoon asked, trying not to get too excited as his gaze remained fixed to the bundle of fluff by the student’s feet. The student’s expression turned to one of concern as he followed Taekwoon’s line of sight to see nothing but an empty space.

“What dog?” The student’s voice was painted with confusion as he gave Taekwoon a look of worry.

The glee Taekwoon had somewhat felt at seeing the charming dog quickly turned to dread as it dawned on him what had just happened. His shoulders tensed and he cursed harshly under his breath. He’d been so distracted by the thought of starting university that he’d forgotten about keeping his own abilities under wraps.

On closer inspection, the dog was surrounded by a faint glow, a tell-tale sign that it wasn’t actually an animal from the real world; spirit animals as they were called in the books Taekwoon had read late into the night unbeknownst to his mother; and therefore Taekwoon would be the only one able to see it. Taekwoon wasn’t very adept at telling them apart from real animals yet so he had to be careful, else people like this student will think he’s crazy.

“Ah…never mind.” Taekwoon scratched the back of his head awkwardly as a blush crossed his face in embarrassment. The student’s super-hearing from earlier made sense now. The supernatural hearing combined with the student’s enthusiastic attitude reflected the traits of the spirit animal that sat at his feet. His spirit animal was a dog breed, a Samoyed, so naturally he’d gained traits from his animal counterpart. The student just laughed and shook his head in confusion before grinning and continuing as if nothing had happened.

“What’s your name?” The student’s question fell upon deaf ears as Taekwoon’s attention had been drawn elsewhere. In the crowd behind the student, Taekwoon’s eyes flickered to a freshman with electric blue hair. His tough stance and the charismatic aura surrounding him was enough for Taekwoon to decide to avoid any confrontations with that person at all costs. He was certain that the freshman would have a formidable spirit animal and he wanted to avoid meeting them if possible. Even if he knows that the animal is just a spirit, the initial shock of seeing an animal never gets old, especially when he’s confronted with the likes of lions or tigers.

Taekwoon swiftly realised that he’d zoned out when the student proceeded to wave a hand in front of his face to train his attention back to the question at hand.

“Um…” Taekwoon began, obviously unsure of what the student had just said.

The student gave an exasperated sigh. “Your name, what is it?” He gestured to his disorganised clipboard full of names to emphasise his point.

“Taekwoon…Jung Taekwoon.” A larger blush painted Taekwoon’s pale cheeks at his second stumble during the space of a minute. He just hoped that this student didn’t keep first impressions to memory.

“Right, you’re in room 201. Follow this path until you see a red brick building on your left. Enter the building and you’ll find your room on the top floor.” The student pointed at the path behind himself before handing Taekwoon a card. “This is your key-card that gives you access to the building, make sure you don’t leave without it or you’ll be stuck.” The student flashed a playful grin before moving out of Taekwoon’s way to allow him to pass.

“Thank you…” Taekwoon paused as it struck him that he’d never asked the students name. “…um, sorry, I forgot to ask your name…” He smiled sheepishly and hoped that the student wouldn’t think too much of his lack of politeness.

The grin on the student’s face spread even wider and again, Taekwoon could see the student’s likeness to his spirit animal. The student’s happiness resembled that of an excited puppy. 

“The name’s Lee Jaehwan.” 

“Ok…thanks Jaehwan.” Taekwoon nodded with a little smile before passing Jaehwan and continuing on his way down the path, his key-card now safely tucked away in his pocket.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the end of my first ever chapter >~< Ngl, I was very nervous to post this but I hope you liked it :)) Please let me know what you thought~


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